Chapter Twenty Nine

Amelia's POV

By the time Saturday arrived, I was filled with excitement. Everything was going very well. Not only were Julian and I going on another date, but we had also gotten closer since the first one. Also, Genevieve Lopez and I had become sort of friends, and I was also friendly with the other women who had attended the bachelorette party. She had more or less initiated me into the "friends of Genevieve Lopez" club.

I was even given a special invitation to her wedding.

I was doing a little dance in front of my mirror as I inspected my outfit for the day.

It was a yellow, flowery sundress that matched the yellow ribbon tying me hair up in a ponytail. Underneath it, I was wearing a swimsuit because for our second date, Julian and I were going boating at the Lovers' Lake. It was this sparkling lake with swans on the surface, and pretty much every couple went there at least once. There were all sorts of tales about how it blessed the love of any couple that visited it.

It sounded like a regular date, but here was the twist. Midway into our boating trip, I was going to dare Julian to jump into the water and swim to the shore. Whoever lost would have to plan the next date.

I was so excited that I twirled a few times before finally giving him a call.

"Hi, Julian," I said.

"Hey," he replied. "Are you about to set out?"

"Yeah," I replied. "You're still picking me up from Ray's place, right?"

"Of course," he said. "Just give me a call once you're ready."

Our plan was for me to attend Ray's picnic for a short while, then Julian would pick me up and drive straight to Lovers' Lake from there. Not that I had told him the date was taking place at Lovers' Lake, of course. That would ruin the secret part of it.

"See you then," I said. "Bye."

He ended the call, and I admired myself a little longer in the mirror, before blowing a kiss at it and picking up my purse.

This was going to be another beautiful day.

……

When Ray had mentioned a holiday "cottage", I had known better than to imagine an actual cottage. The "cottage" was a massive building almost the size of the Domitia mansion.

'Hold on a second,' I thought, 'is every family in Goldcrest City richer than the Domitias or something?'

Ray hurried to meet me as soon as I walked into the garden. I was surprised when she hugged me warmly, smiling the whole time.

"Welcome," she said, pushing a glass of lemonade into my hand. "Over here. Everyone is already having fun."

"Is Jackie here?" I asked.

It was always best to know what I was dealing with before stepping into a situation.

"No, she's not," Ray replied. "Something came up… with her dad's company, I think? And she couldn't make it. But Angie and Mandy are here."

Whatever the reason was, I was grateful for her absence. Ray led me to the spot where Angela and Mandy sat, and they grinned when they saw me.

"Long time no see, Isabella," Angela said, waving.

Mandy, on the other hand, stood up and hugged me tightly.

"It's so good to have you back," she said. "For a moment there, I thought you had left our friend group behind."

"Why would you think that?" I asked as we sat on the soft grass.

"Well, who would want to hang out with us when she could hang out with Genevieve Lopez and her friends instead?" she replied.

"Oh, that," I said.

The pictures from Genevieve's bachelorette party had spread on the internet almost as fast as the pictures of Julian and I on our first date had. It had made me into something of a higher ranking celebrity, and even as I sat with those three, I could feel the eyes of everybody else on me.

"I'm getting along with Genevieve," I said, "but that doesn't change the fact that you're my friends. I won't just abandon you like that."

"Aw, that's so sweet," Ray said.

"Tell us about the bachelorette party," Angela said. "What was it like?"

I sipped my lemonade as I talked, and they listened with rapt attention as I described the bonfire, the moonlit beach, the music and dancing that had come after I was done telling the story about Julian and I.

"I've been invited to the wedding as well," I added.

"Wow," Mandy said in awe. "Girl, you're living the dream."

I grinned. I was indeed living the dream.

Finally, after the earlier disappointments, I was getting what I hoped to enjoy by becoming Isabella Domitia.

We were still talking, laughing and munching on delicacies, when I suddenly began to feel hot.

'How odd,' I thought. 'The sun isn't that bad. Is it because I've been sitting outside for a while?'

I tried to fan myself with a magazine, but it didn't do any good.

"Are you okay, Bella?" Ray asked, giving me a worried look.

"I… I feel hot," I said. "Could I go somewhere cool?"

"Sure," she replied. "The rooms inside are air-conditioned. You must be getting a fever. Come on."

She took my hand and helped me up.

"Bella's going to sit inside for a bit," she said to Angela and Mandy.

"Make sure you give her some aspirin or something," Angela said.

"Sure," she replied. "Let's go, Bella."

My legs felt weak, and I was sort of stumbling as she led me by my hand into the cottage. I was shivering, even though it felt like my veins had been filled with liquid fire.

Ray made me sit on a sofa while she fetched a towel soaked in cold water and made me press it to my forehead.

"Don't worry, Isabella," she whispered, "it's going to stop hurting very soon."

Before I could ask what that meant, she was gone.